Last Updated on July 17, 2025 by The Official Game Rules Team

Sleeping Queens is a charming card game where players aim to wake up the most queens to win. The deck consists of queens, kings, knights, dragons, and other special cards. Here’s a breakdown of the rules and how to play:

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How to Play Sleeping Queens

Ages 8+ | 2–5 Players

Game Components (79 Cards)

12 Queen cards (green backs)
8 Kings
5 Jesters
4 Knights
4 Sleeping Potions
3 Wands
3 Dragons
40 Number Cards (four each of 1 through 10)

Objective

The game ends when a player either:

In a 2–3 player game: collects 5 awakened queens or scores 50 points
In a 4–5 player game: collects 4 awakened queens or scores 40 points

If all queens are awakened before a win condition is met, the player with the highest total queen points wins.

Setup

Separate the decks: Divide the Queen cards (green backs) from the main playing deck (red backs).
Lay out the Queens: Shuffle the Queen cards and place them face down in a 4×3 grid in the center of the table.
Deal and stack: Shuffle the red-backed deck and deal 5 cards to each player. Place the remaining cards face down to form the draw pile. Leave room beside it for a discard pile.

Players keep their hands secret.

Taking a Turn

Play proceeds clockwise. On your turn, do one of the following actions, then draw back up to 5 cards:

1. Play a King

Discard a King to awaken a Sleeping Queen.
Choose a face-down queen from the center and place it face up in front of you.
If you awaken the Rose Queen, you immediately awaken a second queen of your choice.

2. Play a Knight

Discard a Knight to try to steal a queen from another player.
That player may immediately block your attempt by playing a Dragon.
- If blocked: both Knight and Dragon are discarded, and both players draw a replacement card.
- If not blocked: you take the chosen queen and add it to your collection.

3. Play a Sleeping Potion

Discard a Sleeping Potion to put an opponent’s queen back to sleep.
The chosen queen is returned to the center face down.
The opponent may immediately block this with a Wand.
- If blocked: both cards are discarded, and both players draw a card.
- If not blocked: the potion takes effect and the queen returns to the grid.

4. Play a Jester

Discard a Jester and flip the top card from the draw pile:
- If it’s a Power card (King, Knight, etc.), add it to your hand and take another turn.
- If it’s a Number card, count players clockwise starting with yourself. The last person counted awakens a queen from the center.

5. Discard and Draw

To refresh your hand, you may discard:

A single card to draw 1 new card.
A pair of identical number cards to draw 2 new cards.
Three or more number cards that form a valid addition equation, and draw that many new cards.

Examples:

Discard 2, 3, and 5 (since 2 + 3 = 5)
Discard 2, 3, 4, and 9 (since 2 + 3 + 4 = 9)

You must announce your equation when discarding it.

Special Queen Rules

The Rose Queen: Awakens with an additional queen only if she’s taken from the center—not when stolen.
Cat and Dog Queens: You may not own both at once. If you wake one while already controlling the other, the new one goes back to sleep immediately and your turn ends.

End of the Game

The game ends when a player meets one of the following win conditions:

Collects the required number of queens (5 for 2–3 players, 4 for 4–5 players)
Reaches the required point total (50 or 40 points)
All queens have been awakened (highest score wins)

Clarifications and FAQ

What happens if the draw pile runs out?
Shuffle the discard pile to form a new draw deck.

Does the Rose Queen grant a bonus if stolen?
No. Her bonus only activates when she is awakened from the center grid.

Can I delay playing a Dragon or Wand?
No. Blocking cards must be played immediately after the attack (Knight or Potion) is made.

Do I need to reach exactly 40 or 50 points to win?
No. Exceeding the point threshold is fine.

About the Game

Sleeping Queens was invented by 6-year-old Miranda Evarts and developed with the help of her family. It combines imagination, light math, and strategy into a fast-paced game of daring rescues, sneaky spells, and royal awakenings.

Notes/Variations

You can’t play multiple cards at a time except in the case of using multiple Dragon cards on the same Queen.
Some variations allow discarding the top card of your draw pile if you cannot play a card from your hand.
Remember the point value and position of Queens you steal from other players, as you can target them with Dragon cards later.

Enjoy playing Sleeping Queens!